Molding-machine.



C. P. MELVIN.

MOLDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 11. 1914.

1,285,302. Patented Nov. 19, 1918.

4 SHEETSSHEET I.

WITNESSES 2 INVENTOR C, P. MELVIN.

MOLDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 11. 1914.

Patented Nov. 19, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEEI 2.

INVENTOFI WITN ESSES C. P. MELVIN.

MOLDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. II. 1914.

Patented Nov. 19, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3- FI GB.

INVENTOR FIE.4.

c. P. MELV IN. MOLDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. II. 1914.

Patented Nov. 19, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHED 4.

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INVENTOR fmsrrnn srnrns Parana orrron.

oHAnLEs r. MELVIN, or YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO,-ASSIG1\TOR ro THE MELVIN-LLOYDCOMPANY, or YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OI-IIO.-

MOLDING-MACHINE.

I Specification of Letters Patent. Patented NOV; 19, 1918.

Application filed April 11, 1914. I Serial No. 831,320,

To all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known thatI, CHARLES P. MELVIN, a resident of Youngstown, in thecounty of Mahoning and State of Ohio, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Molding- Machines, of which the following is a spearfication. i This invention relates to molding machines. The object ofthe inventionis to provide a molding machine which is very accurate "inoperation, which is simple in construction, which enables large or heavymolds to be readily produced, which can be readily manipulated'by one ortwo opera tors, and which also produces an accurate impression of thepattern.

The invention comprises the construction and arrangement of partshereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, whiohrepresent one embodiment of the invention, Figure1 is a side elevation; Fig. 2 is a front view, partly in section on theline2-2, Fig. 1'; Fig. 3 is a plan view, partly in section on the line33, Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a detail sectional viewlon the line 44,.Fig. 3,illustrating the mold leveling or equalizing devices; Fig. 5 is a detailsectional view of a traveling runner; Fig. 6 is a side elevationcorresponding to Fig. 1, and on a smaller scale, and illustrating themold carrying platen in inverted position; Figs. 7 and 8 are detailviews of a clamping device; Fig. 9 is a side elevation of a modifiedform of the invention; Fig. 10 is a front elevation thereof with themold ele vated; Fig. 11 is a plan view of the same, partly in section onthe line 1111, Fig. 10; Fig. 12 is a detail sectional view on the line1212, Fig. 11, and Figs. 13 and 14: are detail views of the wedges foroperating certain equalizing supports. 1

The molding machine shown in the drawings comprises a suitable frameconsisting of a base or body 1 which ator-near one endv is provided witha hollow cylindrical upright portion 2 and at or near the other end withtwo upright columns '3, and intermediate its ends with two other largerupright columns 4, the several columns 3 and4: being rigidly connectedtogether at their upper ends by a suitablecap plate or head 5. Saidcolumns are made of sufficient size so as to be perfectly rigid and aremaintained in parallelisnn with each other by the base 1 and cap plate5.

In the base 1 is journaled a driving shaft 6 provided at one end withdriving means, such as the pulley 7, and at or near the other end withan ordinary-spiralcam 8, which lies directly under the center of thehollow upright 'portion 2 of the frame, and which cooperates with aroller 9 journaled on a pin or shaft 10 extending acrossbetween twovertical webs 11 in .a hollow tubular member 12 which slides verticallywithin the up right frame portion 2 and whose lower edge is arranged tocontact an annular shoulder 13 of the main frame when the roller 9 dropsoff the high part of the cam 8 to thereby jar the mold carried by saidtubular member. Thetubular member 12 at-its upper end is provided with aflange or table pOrtionll to which is secured atable 15', which maycomprise one or more straight bars, such as I- beams, channels or thelike, but is shown as a solid, rectangular plate, which may be formed ofwood, metal, or any other suitable material. In the table15 are a seriesof registeringo penings, four being shown, in each of which is-located'a vertically movable pin or abutment 16,]each ofWhich may be actuatedindependently of the others by any suitable'me'ans, such as a series ofwedges 17 17 a extending through slots in said pins and slidable inhorizontal grooves or channels in the table 15 and provided withactuating means at the front of the machine, such as the handles 18.

The columns 4: form guides for a vertically movable mold carryingcarriage 19, consisting of rigidly connected sidewalls 20, a rear wall21, and a front wall 21 The side walls 20 are connected by two crossshafts 22 and 23, the first of which is on the mold side of thestandards 4 and at or near the lower end ofthe carriage 19, and thesecond of which is on the other side of said standards and near theupper end of the carriage. Said shafts carry loosely rotatable groovedrollers 24, preferably provided with ball or roller bearings, whichtravel along the columns 4 and which transmit the weight of the movableplaten and mold to said columns. Each sidewall 20 of the carriage 19 isprovided with an adjustable verticalrunner member 25, having rollers 26at its opposite ends which travel along the outer faces of the columns4:. Intermediate its ends the runner member 25 is provided with a crosspin 27 which fits ina'horizontal slot or opening 28 in abracket29'riveted, bolted or otherwise secured to the side wall 20, andwhich prevents vertical movement of the runner member withreference tothe carriage 19. Said runner member is also provided with two abutments80, one on each side of the pin enable the patternto be drawn out of themold without'breaking the latter, or to incline the platen when invertedin cases where the pattern has greater draft on one side than on theother. The screws 31 also enable all lost motion .or play to be taken upbetweenthe columns' and carriage 19.

. Carriage 19 is'provided with two horizontal side-arms 85, shown aschannel members riveted or otherwise secured to the outer surfaces ofthe side walls 20, and which project out over the table 15. The arms 35are provided at their 'outer ends with U-shaped brackets 36, between thearms of which are located trunnions'37 attached to the upper ends of theV-shaped'side walls 38 of reversible platen 39, which may be a sheetmetal member, but isshown as built up of two side members and a woodenfloor 10 to which the pattern 41 is rigidly screwed or boltedl One ofthe side arms 35 is provided with a hollow casing" 42 in which isliocated spiral spring 48 whichacts inwardly against the ends of across: pin or shoulder on a locking pin 44, which is adapted to beforced inwardly into a suitable-opening in the side wall. of the'platen39, in order to locksaid platen against rotation. The locking pin 4.4 ispreferably provided with suitable means for withdrawing the same, suchas the pivoted handle 45, which may be turned. to the position shown'inFig. 2 to withdraw the pin, and which whenplaced in line with.

said pin opening. 7

The mold supporting carriage 19, and the mold carried thereby are movedvertically along the columns or standards 4 by any suitable deviceswhich may be power driven but are shown as hand operated. Said depermitsit to enter the locking vices consist of a hand wheel 50 for rotatingashaft 51fjourna'led in brackets 52 attached to or forming part of thehead or cap 5, and which shaft is provided with asmall' pinion53.1neshing with a larger pinion 54 on a shaft 55 "carrying a windingdrum 56 around which are looped several turns of a oable'57, which atone end is attached to the carriage-19, as to the rear wall 21 thereof,and which at the other end is provided with a suitable counterweight 58,preferably consisting of, several, members so that its weight can beadjusted. This counterweight is preferably adjusted to a weightintermediate that of the frame 19, platen 39 and pattern 41' and'theweight of these parts plus the mold flask, and sand, as more fullyhereinafter described.

The carriage 19 is provided with suitable "nieans forlocking it in itslowest position,

where the bottoms of the brackets 36 are slightly below the t-runnions37 on the platen 39 when the tubular member 12 is resting on the,annular ledge 13, asshown in Fig. 1 to avoid the communication of shockand jar to the arms35 and the frame 19. This locking means comprises apin 60 which is forced by a spiral spring 61 into an opening in avertical strip or bar 62 attached at its upper and lower endstotheframe. The locking pin may be withdrawn from said opening to release thecarriage 19 by an operating handle 63, attached to. one end of a shaft64 and whichis provided with an arm 65 workingbetween two vabutmentsbtion, the locking pin. Carriage 19 is alsopr'ovided with suitable meansfor lock'ing the platen 39 in inverted or reversed position, that is,inthe position shown in Fig. 6. These devices comprise. an abutment 7 0ar ranged to be contacted by a projecting portion 71of the reversibleplaten, and which abutment preferably consists of an angle membersecured to the frame 19 by a bolt or b0lts-72 passing'through anelongated slo-t therein, so that the abutment can be adjusted verticallyfor accuracy. The platen is held in inverted position by a lockingdevice consisting of a bevel strike 73 projecting inwardly through anopening in the-side wall of the frame 19, and which is attached toa leafspring 74: having a thumb-piece 75 at one end for withdrawing the.latch, and which spring is attached to the frame by screws or boltspassing through an elongated slot therein, so that said strike may be.adjusted vertically on the frame. v

The machine described is used as follows:

Assuming the parts to be in the position shown in Figs. '1, 2 and 3,with the pattern fastened to the platen.'a molding flask open at top andbottom is placed in position upon the platen and a hopper. is placedupon the flask. Molding sand is then shoveled into the hopper to fillthe flask The power, is then turned on to. rotate pulley 7 shaft .6 andthe cam 8. Each time the cam turns over it lifts theroller 9, tables 14:and 15, the platen 39 and the .mold, a-nd causes the sand to, settleand. pack tightly into the flask, around the pattern. [T he jarring orolting operation is continued for a suitable. length of time and thesand is then. tampeddown by hand around the edgesv of the flask. gThehopper is then removed and usually is scraped across the topfof theflask to level the upper surface of the sand, although a separateslicing bar may be used for this purpose, if desired. A cover 77 is thenapplied to; the top of the molding flask and the entire mold and coverare clamped to the platen by any suitable means. The means shown, andwhich is illustrated in detail in Fig. 7, comprises a bar 78 which isplaced across the top of the cover 77, and which is provided at each endwith rigid rods 79, preferably provided with an adjusting nut 80. Rods79 are provided with a pivoted link 81, having an elongated opening 82therein, which cooperates with another rod 83 having a similar elongatedopening 82 and which at its lower end has a head 84 adapted to beslipped into a notch or opening in the platen 39, and shown as notchesin the ends of a member or members 86 secured to said platen. Theclamping de vices are operated by bent metal levers 85 each providedwith a cross pin 88, which is oblong in cross section and which passesthrough the openings 82, 82 in the links 81 and 83. By turning saidlever to the position shown in dotted lines Fig. 7, the pin 88 is placedwith its longer diameter crosswise of the links 81 and 83 and releasesthe clamp, while when turned to the position shown in full lines the pinis placed with its longer diameter longitudinally of the links and drawsthe bar 78 down upon the flask cover, and thereby clamps the entire'mold to the platen.

When the mold is fully clamped the locking pin is released and the handwheel 50 is turned to elevate the carriage 19, platen 39 and the mold tothe proper level, when the locking pin it is withdrawn and the mold andplaten are allowed to swing clownwvardly, that is to the left in Fig. 1,until the mold is underneath the arms 35, in which position the mold issuspended on the trunnion 37. In turning, the projection 71 of theplaten passes beyond the latch 73, which swings out beneath the same andholds it, and abuts against the stop 70. Hand wheel 50 is now operatedto low r the mold upon the table 15, or to a position very slightlyabove the same. The wedges 17, 17 are then drawn out independently ofeach other by means of their handles 18 so as to lift the equalizing orleveling pins 16 into contact with the bottom of the flask. This firmlysupports the flask with its axis truly vertical, and compensates for anyroughness or inequalities in the covers 77. The rods 83 are then forcedout of the slots in the members 86 to release the flask from the platenand the hand wheel 50 is operated to lift the platen and pattern, whichare simultaneously tapped or vibrated mechanically or by hand so as toseparate the pattern from th sand. When the pattern begins to separatefrom the sand, the

counterweight 58 is usually sufiicient to lift the carriage 19, platen39 and pattern to the position shown in Fig. 6 without manualassistance, except to apply pressure to the hand wheel 50 to prevent thecarriage from rising too rapidly. The cover 77 with the mold thereon isthen lifted off from the table 15 and is set aside for the castingoperation. Latch 7 3 is then withdrawn to release the platen, whichswings back to its original position, and the platen is then loweredupon the table for another molding operation.

Figs. 9 to 12 show a modified form of the invention in which the platen39 is dispensed with. In this arrangement the pattern 4:1 is secureddirectly to the table 15, and a stripping plate 90 having an opening ofthe same shape as the pattern is placed on said table around thepattern. The arms 35 are each provided with a lifting member 91, whichis held to said arm by a bolt 92, and which may be adjusted by means oftwo tap screws 93 threaded through said arms and which engage the undersurfaces of the corners of the lifting members. These lifting membersproject inwardly toward the pattern from the side arms. The table 15-,in this case, is provided in its opposite edges with openings 94: topermit the lifting members 91 to pass.

\Vith the arrangement "ust described, a flask 95 is placed upon thestripping plate 90 around the pattern and the sand is poured in fromabove as before and is packed down by operating the jarring cam. Thenthe jarring operation is finished a cover is applied to the top of theflask and the carriage 19 is elevated to cause the lifting arms 91 toengage projections 96 on the stripping plate QO and thereby lift themold off from the pattern. When the mold and pattern are entirely freeof each other the mold and stripping plate are lifted off from the arms91, a cover 97 is applied to the mold and it is inverted in the usualmanner. The lifting arms 91 may be slotted longitudinally, as at 98, Orin an other manner may be adjustable in order to engage diiferent sizesor styles of the stripper plate. The other parts of the mechanism, suchas the cam for arring the mold and the mechanism for elevating andlowerplaten supported by said table, a vertically movable carriagehaving arms arranged to engage saidplatenfor lifting the same, saidcarriage being movable to a position in which said arms are below thelowest position of said platen, and means for locking said carriage insaid position.

8. A molding machine, comprising a table for supporting a mold, verticalcolumns, a carriage movable along on said columns and provided withrunner members traveling thereon, and means for adjusting said runnermembers to level the carriage to avoid Vibration of said carriage.

4. A molding machine, comprising a table for supporting a mold, verticalcolumns, a carriage movable along said columns and provided with meansfor lifting said mold, and runner members carried by said carriage andadjustable toward and from said columns and provided with antifrietionmembers traveling thereon.

5. A molding machine comprising a table for supporting a mold, verticalcolumns, a carriage movable on said columns and provided with means forlifting the mold, piv oted runner members on said carriage and arrangedto travel along said columns,.and means for adjusting said runnermembers toward and from the columns for leveling said carriage and mold.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

CHARLES P. MELVIN.

Witnesses:

F. W. WINTER, G. H. Lnnnsorrn.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). C.

